Singer-songwriter Hudson Moore’s songs are firmly rooted in country though they’re equally influenced by other genres, like rock, pop and the blues. In 2012 his single "Fireworks" climbed atop the Texas charts where it remained for two weeks. Now, multi-instrumentalist Moore returns with new music on Getaway, his first album in almost six years. In advance of its release on June 17th, Moore kindly took the time to talk about the process of making the album, the stories behind the songs and more.

Congrats on Getaway which will be released June 17th. With fourteen songs, it’s a collection which is a bit larger than what we typically see being released. Did you have many songs to pull from for the album and was it difficult narrowing them down?I wrote about fifty to sixty songs over the past couple of years and it was tough to narrow it down. I narrowed it down to my twenty favorites, we recorded a total of nineteen and we ended up with fourteen. It may be a bit more than people are used to, but I just wanted to give the listener a lot of different flavors so they would get to see the diversity of my musical personality. We have a little bit of everything from ballads to fun songs and there are even a few that may surprise people.

The songs definitely display that musical diversity, but they also seem unified around the theme of relationships.Yeah, most of the songs are based on the highs and lows of relationships, which are the types of songs have become my favorites over the years because they are the things I can relate having been through. There are some heartbreakers in there, but overall I wanted to make a record that made people feel good.

It totally does that. Overall, it’s a great summer soundtrack, a real Getaway as the title suggests. Is that why you chose that as the title?Thank you. I think it was kind of a combination of forethought and serendipity. I really didn’t have a title until about four or five weeks ago when we printed the album. When I looked at the list of songs and the way they made me feel as well as getting off the grid and making the record in Texas, I think Getaway really encompasses the whole story of the album. It fit not only the vibe of the song, but also the experience of making the record. It was the perfect title.

You are originally from Texas, then a few years ago you moved to Nashville but for this record as you mentioned, you returned to Texas to record it.I did, to a studio thirty minutes outside of Austin in the Hill Country. Recording it in Texas, I wasn’t concerned with the corporate Nashville 9-5 way where you really feel like you’re on the clock. It was very comfortable and felt like coming home. The studio was in a hidden place which made it feel like we were on vacation, which was very inspiring and resulted in great music because we were just having fun.

We brought in a hand selected group of musician friends to fill out the sound with drums and bass and from there Dwight [Baller, co-producer] and I spent most of the time doing overdubs and adding whatever a song needed, like banjo and mandolin. Some of the magic in making this record was having these guys come into the room and letting them go, getting the songs started and then adding my signature sound on top of that.

You co-wrote or wrote all of the tracks with quite a variety of songwriters. Was that intentional?You know, a lot of artists have certain people that they like to write with, but I enjoy writing with different people, seeing how they think about things and learning from them. Some of the songs I wrote with people two years ago and others were written a month before we went to record, so the album is a journey of songs that cover a wide span of people and times.

My current favorites are “21,” “Don’t Wanna Lose You” and “Here For You.” Can you choose one and tell the story behind it?I love that you don’t pick the super poppy radio ones! They’re all special to me, but I’ll choose “Here For You” which is a song I wrote with Liz Rose about four years ago. The initial idea was inspired by meeting my now wife. We were hanging out on the front porch and all I could think about was how special this girl was and how I didn’t care what we had been through, our lives started now. I had the chord progression and melody which I brought to Liz and we wrote it pretty quickly after that.

And it’s also the album closer. I wanted to start the album with a high note [with “Might As Well”], take you for a ride in the middle and end with something that makes you feel good. With the extended jam that happens in the song and the key it’s in, it just feels like the credits are rolling when you are listening.

Are there any plans to tour in support of the album?We have a date coming up with the Brothers Osborne and there are a few things that we are in the midst of booking for the Fall. We’re going to keep the calendar filled. I’m really excited to hit the road and play these new songs for people and see their reactions.